September 2, 2005

You really have to hand it to Boston for loosening some of their puritanical liquor laws lately. First, they let liquor stores sell beer on (shocker!) Sunday. Now the state is thinking of passing a new law allowing restaurant patrons to bring opened wine bottles home with them, instead of being forced to finish drinking them with dinner or leave partial bottles behind. Mass. would join about 30 other states which have implemented similar laws. Proponents of the proposal claim that this could lower drunk driving rates because people won't feel that they have to drink everything in front of them, and could even increase alcohol sales in restaurants. One concern raised by opponents is that some patrons could end up drinking the wine in the car on the way home, but some states force restaurants to makr bottles at the level of the remaining wine, and companies like WineDoggyBag.com are offering sealable solutions to keep you out of your bottle until you're safely home.